Posts Tagged ‘pH’

Each year we see problems with cantaloupe leaves turning yellow. There are several potential causes. If the yellowing is on leaf edges it most commonly is due to salt effects and fungicides, see the article by Jerry Brust two weeks ago for more details http://agdev.anr.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=4562. Copper fungicides are often the culprit in this leaf yellowing, causing a phytotoxic reaction. Foliar fertilizer applications can often worsen the yellowing by increasing salt levels on the leaves.

Each year there are some fields of cantaloupes that are affected by manganese toxicities. This occurs when bed pH drops below 5.4 which affects soil chemistry so that plant available manganese increases greatly and plants take up quantities that become toxic. As a micronutrient, Manganese is needed in only small amounts and the sufficiency range is between 20-100 ppm. Magnesium deficiencies also can occur at low pH and older leaves will show interveinal chlorosis. These symptoms can be confused with mite damage so check for mites in the diagnostic process.

Air pollution is another cause of yellowing of cantaloupe leaves. This yellowing is usually confined to older crown leaves.

Each year we see problems with vegetable crops related to low pH in plastic mulched beds. A common scenario is a field with sandy soil (loamy sand, sandy loam) that has not been limed in the last 2 years. The starting pH of beds in this situation will usually be 5.5-6.0. Granular or liquid nitrogen fertilizers applied prior to or at bed formation and nitrogen fertilizers applied through the drip irrigation system during fertigation will commonly consist of ammonium sulfate, urea, ammonium nitrate or UAN (urea-ammonium nitrate) solutions. All of these fertilizers are acidifying because the ammonium which they contain (urea releases ammonium nitrogen as it reacts with the soil). Ammonium will convert to nitrate in the soil, a process called nitrification, and will release hydrogen (H+) ions, thus dropping the pH. As a result, pH in the plastic mulched beds gets progressively lower throughout the growing season. Beds with a starting pH of 5.5 can drop down into the 4s. The largest drops in pH will be in the wetted area around the drip emitter and drier areas of the bed will have a higher pH.

As pH drops, availability of magnesium and calcium declines while manganese availability increases, often to toxic levels. Below pH of 5.2, the chemistry of the soil changes and aluminum is released into the soil solution at increasing levels, further acidifying the soil. This free aluminum also is very harmful to plant roots because aluminum interferes with calcium, can bind with phosphorus, and can interfere with cell expansion at root tips, effectively stopping root tip development. Most of the active mineral nutrient uptake occurs in the region just behind the root tips. Without further root tip growth, nutrient uptake will become limited. Effective rooting volume is also reduced, thus placing the plant under additional stress. In severe cases, plants can die.

Managing plastic mulched bed pH starts with making sure that fields are limed the fall before beds are to be made. Spring applications can also be made to the area but full lime reaction should not be expected. Manage fertilizer programs so that large pH drops do not occur. This means switching some or all of the nitrogen program to nitrate sources – calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate would be examples.

If marginal pHs are encountered after plastic is laid (below 5.8), consideration should be given to eliminating ammonium or urea containing fertilizers and switching to calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate sources for fertigation. Both these fertilizers cause a basic reaction in soils because plant roots excrete hydroxides and carbonates as they take up the nitrate. There are few other materials that can be used to raise the soil pH through the drip system once plastic is laid. One option is potassium carbonate which is alkaline and thus will raise the pH. It is fully soluble and can be made in liquid forms. Liquid lime products with ultrafine ground limestone can also go through a drip system; however, getting enough material into the soil to affect the pH will be difficult and expensive and agitation of supply tanks will be necessary.